Australian GP is this weekend... lot of changes and new faces.

Placed our annual points based dinner wager with a few fun twists last night with my friend.

The bet:

(dinner) Driver - he took Lewis and I took Lando

(bar tab) Team - he (of course) took Ferrari so I took McClaren

(dessert) Low Tier Team Driver - we both wanted Sainz so he had to come off the table. I took Ocon with Haas and he took Ollie Bearman, also with Haas. (laughter ensued)

We both agreed (he begrudgingly) that Max is the best driver and kept anything to do with Red Bull completely off the table. I will of course be rooting for Carlos to beat Lewis... 😜

Random thought - would Red Bull be better off switching Yuki and Lawson back and forth every other race?

Or looking at the tracks each one is strong at and moving them into a Red Bull seat for those races and back to Racing Bulls for the weaker tracks?

That RB car is hard to drive.

9 hours ago, racinfarmer said:

Random thought - would Red Bull be better off switching Yuki and Lawson back and forth every other race?

Or looking at the tracks each one is strong at and moving them into a Red Bull seat for those races and back to Racing Bulls for the weaker tracks?

Hadjar seems more consistent than Lawson. Constructors championship points $ will likely dictate where they go from here. There's a lot of dough on the line.

since they're off for two weeks... current points race between Oscar and Lando is exciting, Max and Red Bull a mess and who saw the constructors battle looking like it does before the season began. Sauber??? Certainly not me. Rumor of Checo and Bottas driving Cadillac floating around.

watching Indy Car GP from Portland at the moment...

1	Oscar Piastri	AUS	McLaren	284
2	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren	275
3	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing	187
4	George Russell	GBR	Mercedes	172
5	Charles Leclerc	MON	Ferrari	151
6	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Ferrari	109
7	Kimi Antonelli	ITA	Mercedes	64
8	Alexander Albon	THA	Williams	54
9	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Kick Sauber	37
10	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Haas	27
11	Fernando Alonso	ESP	Aston Martin	26
12	Lance Stroll	CAN	Aston Martin	26
13	Isack Hadjar	FRA	Racing Bulls	22
14	Pierre Gasly	FRA	Alpine	20
15	Liam Lawson	NZL	Racing Bulls	20
16	Carlos Sainz	ESP	Williams	16
17	Gabriel Bortoleto	BRA	Kick Sauber	14
18	Yuki Tsunoda	JPN	Red Bull Racing	10
19	Oliver Bearman	GBR	Haas	8
20	Franco Colapinto	ARG	Alpine	0

POS.	TEAM	PTS.
1	McLaren	559
2	Ferrari	260
3	Mercedes	236
4	Red Bull Racing	194
5	Williams	70
6	Aston Martin	52
7	Kick Sauber	51
8	Racing Bulls	45
9	Haas	35
10	Alpine	20

Edited August 11, 2025Aug 11 by Crnr2Crnr

15 hours ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

since they're off for two weeks... current points race between Oscar and Lando is exciting, Max and Red Bull a mess and who saw the constructors battle looking like it does before the season began. Sauber??? Certainly not me. Rumor of Checo and Bottas driving Cadillac floating around.

watching Indy Car GP from Portland at the moment...

1	Oscar Piastri	AUS	McLaren	284
2	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren	275
3	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing	187
4	George Russell	GBR	Mercedes	172
5	Charles Leclerc	MON	Ferrari	151
6	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Ferrari	109
7	Kimi Antonelli	ITA	Mercedes	64
8	Alexander Albon	THA	Williams	54
9	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Kick Sauber	37
10	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Haas	27
11	Fernando Alonso	ESP	Aston Martin	26
12	Lance Stroll	CAN	Aston Martin	26
13	Isack Hadjar	FRA	Racing Bulls	22
14	Pierre Gasly	FRA	Alpine	20
15	Liam Lawson	NZL	Racing Bulls	20
16	Carlos Sainz	ESP	Williams	16
17	Gabriel Bortoleto	BRA	Kick Sauber	14
18	Yuki Tsunoda	JPN	Red Bull Racing	10
19	Oliver Bearman	GBR	Haas	8
20	Franco Colapinto	ARG	Alpine	0

POS.	TEAM	PTS.
1	McLaren	559
2	Ferrari	260
3	Mercedes	236
4	Red Bull Racing	194
5	Williams	70
6	Aston Martin	52
7	Kick Sauber	51
8	Racing Bulls	45
9	Haas	35
10	Alpine	20

Hopefully the 2nd half of the schedule is as exciting as it looks like it will be. I am attending the US Grand Prix at COTA again this year. Can't wait for that.

25 minutes ago, pjameven said:

Hopefully the 2nd half of the schedule is as exciting as it looks like it will be. I am attending the US Grand Prix at COTA again this year. Can't wait for that.

Agreed on the second half of season. Is it just me or is F1 more entertaining this year than normal?

55 minutes ago, ckf said:

Agreed on the second half of season. Is it just me or is F1 more entertaining this year than normal?

I agree...seems like more teams and drivers finishing in the top 10 at times...I don't like this summer break...nothing to watch except baseball....

59 minutes ago, ckf said:

Agreed on the second half of season. Is it just me or is F1 more entertaining this year than normal?

Red Bull (Max) not winning everything is a big change, for the good. Hell, look at Williams in the fight... who saw that coming?

2 minutes ago, pjameven said:

I agree...seems like more teams and drivers finishing in the top 10 at times...I don't like this summer break...nothing to watch except baseball....

Competition is healthy for any sport. The new cars and powertrains coming along with Audi and Cadillac is a welcome change as well imo

Edited August 11, 2025Aug 11 by Crnr2Crnr

sounds like Bottas will be one of the Caddy drivers

https://www.newsweek.com/sports/racing/cadillac-f1-signs-deal-driver-2026-season-report-2116178

will Checo get the other seat? two veterans to develop the car may be a good move.

Edited August 21, 2025Aug 21 by Crnr2Crnr

Palou to Red Bull in 2026?

IndyCar.com

Colton Herta Moving to F1 as Cadillac Test Driver in 2026

The California native (photo) has recorded nine victories and 16 poles during his NTT INDYCAR SERIES career.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/18qZy25sFQ/

Video overlaying data from today's qualifying, showing the difference between Max's lap and Lando's

It's insane how close the 2 are.

17 hours ago, krom said:

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/18qZy25sFQ/

Video overlaying data from today's qualifying, showing the difference between Max's lap and Lando's

It's insane how close the 2 are.

nuts... new F1 record with either lap

game on in Monza today and there should be some good battling with Ferrari and Merc

quick race... they could've added another 10 laps to see who ran out of fuel first. : 😂

1 hour ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

quick race... they could've added another 10 laps to see who ran out of fuel first. : 😂

I fucked up and thought it started at 10 est. didn't realize it was underway till lap 25 or so. Missed all the real action

55 minutes ago, krom said:

I fucked up and thought it started at 10 est. didn't realize it was underway till lap 25 or so. Missed all the real action

you didn't miss too much...

do you have the F1 subscription?

if not they usually rebroadcast the race in the evening on ESPN

Edited September 7, 2025Sep 7 by Crnr2Crnr

1 hour ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

you didn't miss too much...

do you have the F1 subscription?

if not they usually rebroadcast the race in the evening on ESPN

I just watch on espn. Used to have the f1 subscription, but canceled it when they denied andreti

2 minutes ago, krom said:

I just watch on espn. Used to have the f1 subscription, but canceled it when they denied andreti

just checked as I'm chilling on the couch... no rebroadcast on ESPN this evening. might be on the ESPN app tomorrow though. there wasn't anything that stands out as far as must see imo.

I like the F1 app as it makes it super easy to watch quali's and races when it's convenient to me as we're typically gone most weekends in the summer. now with Caddy coming... what's your plan?

Max drove well today...good to see Red Bull not packing it in. I wonder who is getting the other seat next year? I don't see them keeping Tsunoda there....if they offer to Hadjar, he should run the other way.....

Sainz continues his string of bad luck....if he doesn't get spun, he gets points...but that's what happens when you are driving back there with everyone trying to get ahead.....

1 hour ago, pjameven said:

Max drove well today...good to see Red Bull not packing it in. I wonder who is getting the other seat next year? I don't see them keeping Tsunoda there....if they offer to Hadjar, he should run the other way.....

Sainz continues his string of bad luck....if he doesn't get spun, he gets points...but that's what happens when you are driving back there with everyone trying to get ahead.....

Max can probably win or top 5 in a Sauber... but it sure doesn't seem like Checo/Lawson/Yuki/Isaac can race a 'Red Bull Car' the way Max can. Checo over the years (not last year) could at least hang with Max and help the team and get points. Carlos is a better driver than he's been showing recently, but yeah... he's had a few stinkers recently. If Merc isn't careful Red Bull could sign Antonelli as he didn't have a contract as of this morning. Most of these teams seem to be looking for the next Max/Lewis... Piastri might be it, but he's likely sticking with McClaren. I do wonder how long Lewis will be at Ferrari.

2 hours ago, pjameven said:

Max drove well today...good to see Red Bull not packing it in. I wonder who is getting the other seat next year? I don't see them keeping Tsunoda there....if they offer to Hadjar, he should run the other way.....

Sainz continues his string of bad luck....if he doesn't get spun, he gets points...but that's what happens when you are driving back there with everyone trying to get ahead.....

Alex Palou

max put on a class today

hadjar and liam are in a tough spot... Are they better off staying in put for another season to see if rb have the new car figured out or risk it all to be a second fiddle to max's lead

Russell takes the pole in Singapore... that was a helluva lap. George / Max / Oscar top three. should be fun watching the Merc / Ferrari points scrap for 2nd the rest of the season.

On 9/7/2025 at 7:58 PM, krom said:

max put on a class today

hadjar and liam are in a tough spot... Are they better off staying in put for another season to see if rb have the new car figured out or risk it all to be a second fiddle to max's lead

sounds like Hadjar is going to RBull with Max, idk where they're going to put Yuki or if they'll keep him. read briefly Horner is job shopping. just the usual F1 drama...

I've been a max fan since the vercrashin days..

hadjar did a hell of a job in quali today, Yuki not so much. I'd be nervous in hadjar's shoes, being Max's teammate hasn't worked out that great for anyone